THE ABUNDANT LIFE
“…I am come that they may have and enjoy
life, and have it in abundance – to the full, till it overflows.” (John 10:10) The only
way into eternal life is through faith in Christ as personal Savior. (John
3:15) In order that every one who believes in Him—who cleaves to Him, trust Him
and relies on Him—may not perish but have eternal life and [actually] live
forever! But do not stop here; to
have eternal life is great – but there is more.
Christ came that you might have life more abundantly. All believers have life, but not all have
abundant life. You are living beneath
your privilege if you are a believer and not enjoying the abundant life.
For life is to be abundant, it must have abundant
resources, and the only unlimited source of life is the person Jesus Christ the
Son of God Jesus said to him, I am the
Way and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by (through)
Me. John 14:6 To possess this fuller
life, the believer must abide in Him. John
15:1-5 I am the True Vine and My Father is the Vinedresser. Any branch in Me that does not bear
fruit—that stops bearing—He cuts away (trims off, takes away). And He cleanses and repeatedly prunes every
branch that continue to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer and more
excellent fruit. You are cleansed and
pruned already, because of the Word which I have given you—the teachings I have
discussed with you. Dwell in Me and I
will dwell in you.—Live in Me and I will live in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself
without abiding in (vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit
unless you abide in Me. I am the Vine,
you are the branches. Whoever lives in
Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit.
However, apart from Me—cut off from vital union with Me—you can do
nothing.
Dynamic, abundant living is not for just a few—it is
God’s norm for all believers. It is
spiritual life in depth, and without it, the Christian life become inane and
meaningless.
I you do not have abundant life within you, you will
soon yield to the carnal (fleshly) life around you. I Cor.
3:1-4 However, brethren, I could not talk to you as to spiritual [men] but as
to nonspiritual (men of the flesh, in whom the carnal nature predominates), as
to mere infants [ in the new life] in Christ—unable to talk yet! I fed you with
milk, not solid food, for you were not yet strong enough [to be ready for it]
but even yet you are not strong enough [to be ready for it], For you are still
(unspiritual having the nature) of the flesh—under the control of ordinary
impulses. For as long as [there are]
envying and jealousy and wrangling and factions among you, are you not
unspiritual and of the flesh, behaving yourselves after a human standard and
like mere (unchanged) men? For when one
says, I belong to Paul, and another, I belong to Apollos, are you not [proving
yourselves] ordinary (unchanged) men?
The carnal life is circumstance-controlled; the
abundant life is Holy Spirit-controlled.
The carnal Christian life leads to defeat; the abundant life leads to
victory in Christ. Man seems to know
everything about life except how to live it abundantly. From this moment on, determine not to be
satisfied with anything less than God’s best: living life abundantly.
THE ABUNDANT LIFE IS A YIELDED LIFE
Romans 6:13 …but offer and yield
yourselves to God as though you have been raised from the dead to [perpetual]
life, and your bodily members [and faculties] to God, presenting them as
implements of righteousness.
How to live the abundant life is not secret. It is revealed in our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. (vs.10) For by the death He died, He died to sin [ending His relation
to it] once for all, and the life that He lives He is living to God—in unbroken
fellowship with Him. Faith that saves identifies you with Christ in His
resurrection—this is abundant life.
Col. 3:1-4 Since you have been raised
with Christ [to a new life, thus sharing His resurrection from the dead], aim
at and seek the [rich, eternal treasures] that are above, where Christ is,
seated at the right hand of God. And set
your minds and keep them set on what is above—the higher things—not on the
things that are on the earth. For [as far as this world is concerned] you have
died, and your [new, real] life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ Who is our life appears, then you
also will appear with Him in (the splendor of His) glory.
STUDY Romans 6:11 … Count yourself by an act of
faith…the control by sin has been cut!!! RECKON! Believe God according to His Word!!!
1. It is one
thing to have eternal life by faith. It
is quite another thing to have abundant life by faith.
2. It is one
thing for you to be “made the
righteousness of God in Him” (II Cor.
5:21); it is another thing for you to realize His righteous life is in
you. (I
John 3:7)
3. It is one
thing for you to live in Christ (II Cor.
5:17); it is another thing for Christ to live His life through you. (Col.
1:27) …which is Christ within and among you the hope of [realizing] the glory.
In Romans 6:13, the believer has a choice! He may yield unto God by faith and enjoy
abundant life, or he may yield unto sin and endure a defeated life. Rev.
3:1 …I know your record and what you are doing; you are supposed to be alive,
but [in reality] you are dead.
(speaking to the church at Sardis
THE ABUNDANT LIFE IS A SERVICE LIFE
To live abundantly, you must serve the Lord Jesus
Christ, Who Himself became our example. He
served all the way to Calvary , and there He
was the obedient servant, (Phil. 2:7-8)
“…and carried His obedience to the extreme of death, even the death of [the]
cross.”
Romans 12:1-2 I appeal to you therefore,
brethren and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive
dedication of your bodies—presenting all your member and faculties—as a living
sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your
reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world—this age,
fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs. But be transformed (changed) by the [entire]
renewal of your mind—by its new ideals and its new attitude—so that you may
prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God,
even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for
you].
The believer is urged to take the necessary steps for
abundant living:
1. You are to
“present”. This is a volitional
surrender to the perfect will of God, even though you may not know God’s
perfect will for your life; it is, on your part, an act of faith. John
7:17 If any man desires to do His will (God’s pleasure), he will know—have the
needed illumination to recognize, can tell for himself—whether the teaching is
from God, or whether I am speaking from Myself and of My own accord and on My
own authority.
2. You are to
“present your bodies.” God must control
and use the whole man. I Thess. 5:23 And may the God of peace
Himself sanctify you through and through – that is, separate you from profane
things, make you pure and wholly consecrated to God – and may your spirit and
soul and body be preserved sound and complete [and found] blameless at the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah.
Your whole man was redeemed on the cross and sanctified (set apart
for service).
3. You are to
“present your bodies as a living sacrifice.”
This is exemplified in the life of the Apostle Paul; he was a “living
sacrifice.” In life, he was a “servant of Jesus Christ” (Rom. Rome
You have been “transformed”—changed by the power of
God, and no longer “conformed to this world”; but now you can be conformed to
the “perfect will of God” – and live abundantly!
THE ABUNDANT LIFE IS A SEPARATED LIFE
Romans 1:1 From Paul, a bond servant of
Jesus Christ, the Messiah, called to be a apostle, a (special messenger) set
apart to [preach] the Gospel (good news) of and from God,
Separation is both positive and negative. You are to be “separated unto the gospel of
God”—this is positive. You are to come
out from anything that is contrary to the perfect will of God—II Cor. 6:17 So come out from among
(unbelievers), and separate (sever) yourselves from them, says the Lord, and
touch not [any] unclean thing; then I will receive you kindly and treat you
with favor,—this is negative.
To be separated means to be sanctified (set apart) for
salvation and service.
1. The Word of
God has the power to separate the believer from sin. John
17:17 Sanctify them—purify, consecrate, separate them for Yourself, make them
holy—by the Truth. Your Word is
Truth. Psa. 119:11 Your words have I
laid up in my heart, that I might not sin against You.
2. God the
Father has the power to separate the believer unto the “coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”.
I Thess. 5:23
3. God the Son
has the power to separate the believer unto righteousness, “not having spot, or wrinkle”
(Eph. 5:24-27)
4. God the Holy
Spirit has the power to separate the believer unto salvation and service. II
Thess. 2:13
Without being separated, you can have relationship
with God, but you cannot have fellowship with Him. You may be united to Him in Calvary
but separated from Him in sin. Isa.
59:1-2. Without separations, you can have
influence without power, movement without achievement; you may try, but not
trust; serve, but not succeed; war, but not win, Without separation unto God
from sin, your whole Christian life will be “wood, hay, stubble.” The abundant life is made possible by the
death, burial and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and made a
reality by being separated unto Him.
THE ABUNDANT LIFE IS A SPIRIT-FILLELD LIFE
And be not drunk with wine, for that is
debauchery; but ever be filled and stimulated with the (Holy) Spirit. Eph. 5:18
The Holy Spirit indwells every believer. You may be immature, weak and imperfect, but
if you have been “born again” of the Spirit (John 3:3-7), He dwells in
you. I
Cor. 6:19 Do you not know that your body is the temple—the very sanctuary—of
the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, Whom you have received [as a Gift] from
God? You are not your own.
Romans 8:9 But you are not living the
life of the flesh, you are living the life of the Spirit, if the (Holy) Spirit
of God [really] dwells without you—directs and controls you. But if any one does not possess the (Holy)
Spirit of Christ, he is none of His—he does not belong to Christ [is not truly
a child of God].
It is one thing for you to have the Holy Spirit
dwelling in you, but does the Holy Spirit have you that He may fill you with
the abundant life? The abundant life is
not found in environment or circumstances, or in the things you may possess. It is found in the infilling of the Holy
Spirit. “Be filled with the Spirit” is a
command. You may be filled many, many
times Acts 2:4 And they were all
filled—diffused thought their souls—with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in
other (different, foreign) languages, as the Spirit kept giving them clear and
loud expression (in each tongue in appropriate words. The Apostles that were filled Acts 2 were filled again in Acts 4.
To be filled with the Holy Spirit is to be Spirit-possessed,
Spirit-empowered, Spirit-led and Spirit-controlled. Acts
8:26-40.
1. You are
filled with the Spirit that you might have joy.
Eph. 5:19-20
2. You are
filled with the Spirit for service. Acts 6:3, 11:22-24
3. You are
filled with the Spirit for power to be a witness.Acts 1:8, 2:4-7
4. You are
filled with the Spirit for the hour of persecution. Acts 7:54-60
5. You are
filled with the Spirit that you may “walk in the Spirit. Gal
5:16-20
6. You are
filled with the Spirit that you may be led by the Spirit.
Rom.8:14
How can you be filled with the Holy Spirit? First, you must desire Him to fill you. Second, you must ask Him to fill you. Third, you must believe that He does fill
you. John
4:14 But whoever takes a drink of the water that I will give him shall never,
no never, be thirsty any more. But the
water that I will give him shall become a spring of water welling up (flowing,
bubbling) continually within him unto (into, for) eternal life.
John 7: 37,38 Now on the final and most
important day of the feast, Jesus stood forth and He cried in a loud voice, If
any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink! He who believes in Me—who cleaves to and
trusts in and relies on Me—as the Scripture has said, Out from his innermost
being springs and rivers of living water shall flow (continuously).
THE ABUNDANT LIFE IS A MATURE LIFE
II Peter 3:18 But grow in grace (undeserved favor,
spiritual strength) and recognition and knowledge and understanding of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ, the Messiah. To
Him [be] glory (honor, majesty and splendor) both now and to the day of
eternity.
The Scriptures reveal four stages of spiritual growth
in the Christian life:
1. The baby
stage. I Cor. 3:1-4 However, brethren, I could not talk to you as to spiritual
[men] but as to non-spiritual (men of the flesh, in whom the carnal nature
predominates), as to mere infants [in the new life] in Christ – A
baby thinks only of self, and if denied the things desired, it will raise a
rumpus. It seeks its own; its feelings
are easily hyrt and it is often jealous.
A baby lives to be served—it never serves. It drinks milk, and cannot eat strong
meat. It cries, but never sings. It tries to talk, but never makes sense. These infant characteristics are so prominent
in the lives of many church members.
They have been born into the family of God, but have failed to develop
spiritually. They are spiritual
babies—carnal Christians.
2. The little
child stage. I John 2:12 I am writing to
you, little children, because for His name’s sake your sins are
forgiven—pardoned through His name and on account of confessing His name. Some Christians grow to be little
children spiritually, but stop there.
Here are some of the characteristics of children: they are often
untruthful, envious and cruel. If rebuked,
they become martyrs; if crossed, they are resentful, and often make a
scene. They are talebearers, repeating
everything they hear (in adults it is called gossip). They are given to emotional outbursts, and
are easily puffed up. They love praise,
and will accept it from any source. They
seek only the things that appeal to self.
Are you a spiritual child?
3. The young
man stage. I John 2:13 I am writing to you father, because you have come to know
(recognize, be aware of and understand) Him Who [has existed] from the
beginning. I am writing to you, young
men, because you have been victorious over the wicked [one]. I write to you, boys (lads) because you have
come to know and recognize and be aware of the Father. Spiritual growth to that of a young man is
not reached by many. He is strong and
virile, and is well able to overcome a young man spiritually by “putting away childish things” (I Cor.
13:11), and grow.
4. The father
stage. SAME VERSE. This stage of
spiritual development can be reached by all, but so few ever attain it. The spiritual father has peace with God. Romans 5:1.
He knows the peach of God. Phil.
4:7. He rejoices in his spiritual children.
I Thess.2:19, I Tim. 1:2. He has
learned contentment under all circumstances.
Phil 4:11. He knows the only
source of true strength. 4:13. He does not brood over the past, but looks to
the future 3:13-14. He knows that all
things work together in his life for his eternal good. Rom.
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